The Drum of Breath

There’s a beautiful couplet from India that says the topic of the infinite is not a topic of conversation. All you can do is feel it, experience it, and then you will understand. The whole world wants to talk about what is infinite, about what is God, about what is life. But you cannot talk about life. Life needs to be felt. Do you feel alive?

When I say this, people think, “Of course, I am alive because of this and this and this.” But these are not the things that make you feel alive.

You have been given the opportunity to be alive. In you beats the drum of breath. You have consciousness, the possibility of awareness. You have the possibility to remember; you have the possibility to forget. You have the good; you have the bad. You have the right; you have the wrong.

All of the possibilities are in you. Nothing is limited. What do you want? The answer must come from your heart, from the one place in you that is sincere, that is calling out to you.

A human being struggles in ignorance because he is living in uncertainty. He is not certain about tomorrow. And when a human being is not certain about something, two things happen: Either he accepts that and says, “I am going to do something about it,” or—like most people—he makes up a story about tomorrow. And once the story has been made up, he will do anything to believe in that story, whatever it takes. But it’s a story. And a story does not remove uncertainty.

Knowledge. Understanding. These are the only things that can remove uncertainty from this life so that I can begin to welcome what tomorrow is. Not what tomorrow brings—what tomorrow is. Existence is an incredible miracle. My yearning, my truest want is to feel alive, to feel this existence. I want to be dazzled by that miracle. I want to witness it.

It truly is about knowing the freedom inside—the freedom to understand. Are you free to understand or are you a slave of other people’s ideas that prohibit you from understanding anything else? Because if you’re not free to understand, you’re not free.

Are you free? Are you part of a fairy tale, a story that doesn’t exist? Or are you part of a story about your time and your life in which there is no limit to appreciation?

Every moment in your life is unique. You will never have two alike. Never. This is the science of living: when you begin to appreciate every moment. To have a heart so open, an understanding so beautiful, and a yearning for appreciation so complete that when that moment comes, you see exactly what it is.

To rest in the most profound way. To come home for real, not in a fantasy. To feel alive, not because somebody gave you permission to, but because you feel alive yourself. You’re not borrowing somebody else’s understanding, but you understand. It’s not about the words. It’s to break through the wall of words and go into reality.

You are not about a story. You are alive. Listen to the drum of that breath and dance to it. Be excited because you’re alive today. Inside, understand. The point of existence is to view this beautiful painting that God has created called you in the most beautiful way. Only when that is happening in your life can you begin to say that you are alive.

When people find that reality within them, joy is the reward. It is not a fantasy, but reality. And the reality is more beautiful than any fantasy.